Download - Historical fiction . . . and bears
Historical Fiction
… and Bears
Spring 2011
ELE 616 Research in Children’s Literature
Define historical fiction?• historical fiction
– A narrative in the form of a novel set in a specific place and
period in history, or based on an event or sequence of events
that actually happened. The characters may be completely
fictional, but if they are known to have existed, their
feelings, words, and actions are reconstructed and to some
degree imagined by the author. The presence of dialogue in
a historical work is usually a clue that the account is
fictionalized.
– For more information, connect to the Historical Novel Society. Click
here to connect to the Google list of historical fiction Web sites. Compare
with nonfiction. See also: Scott O'Dell Award.
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But, what is Historical
Fiction, forsooth?
•“The historical novel has always been a
literary form at war with itself. The very
term, implying a fiction somehow
grounded in fact – a lie with obscure
obligations to the truth – is suggestive of
the contradictions of the genre.”–Quote from a review, cited in “History is but a fable agreed upon: the
problem of truth in history and fiction,” speech by Richard Lee to
Romantic Novelists Association
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What is History, though?
• Whatever else it may be – it is NOT truth
– Each decade throws up new approaches to
history, finds new or previously overlooked
sources and gives entirely new weight to the
facts they do agree on.
– History, in other words, is tailored for its
audience.
– The facts that survive are absurdly inadequate.
The interpretation that is put on them is a huge
distortion even of those few facts.
• History is but a fable agreed upon
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What is History, then?
• History is not quite the out and out truth
that it seems
– At its best it is only one historian’s selection of what
he or she BELIEVES, at any particular time, is most
relevant from the body of material that survives. At
worst – well at worst, it is no more than the sort of
bigoted opinion and blatant manipulation of sources
that we’ve recently seen exposed in the work of
holocaust denier, DAVID IRVING.
• History is but a fable agreed upon
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Where does that leave Historical Fiction?• Historical fiction is the most primal, the most NATURAL
of literary forms
– Historical fiction . . . is the artistic form that springs from this
impulse to give a shape to the past. But it’s not JUST to give a
shape to the past. It is to bring part of the past ALIVE into the
present.
– . . . all historical fiction . . . makes us feel, as a
protagonist, what otherwise would be dead and lost to us. It
transports us into the past. And the very best historical fiction
presents to us a TRUTH of the past that is NOT the truth of
the history books, but a bigger truth, a more important truth –
a truth of the HEART.
• History is but a fable agreed upon
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Differences between history and historical fiction
• Andrew M. Greeley
– History and historical fiction are necessarily not the
same thing. The purpose of history is to narrate
events as accurately as one can. The purpose of
historical fiction is to enable a reader through the
perspective of characters in the story to feel that she
or he is present at the events. Such a goal obviously
requires some modification of the events.
• Quoted by Cindy Vallar in Historical Fiction vs. History
• See her selected Articles on Historical
Fiction vs. History (scroll down page)
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Problems with writing Historical Fiction• The Problem of Definition
– just how “past” is “past”?
• The Problem of “Truth”
– Historical Fiction or Fictional History?
• The Problem of Balance
– How much “authentic” detail?
• The Problem of Accuracy
– How do you avoid errors or
anachronisms?
• The Problem of Provenance
– Where does the story come from?
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Fall 1998
Historical
Fiction or
Fictionalized
History?
Problems for
Writers of
Historical
Novels for
Young Adults
Joanne Brown
How do these authors do it?• Making it real: bringing historical
fiction alive
– The challenge for me in writing historical
fiction is this: How can I see, hear, feel,
taste, smell, and know what my main
character experienced? I have always done this through a
combination of book research, exploring original records,
searching for artifacts, doing interviews, and reenactment. I
am an experiential learner. I am also somewhat dyslexic, so the
book research can take me just so far. Touching real original
records and artifacts can often transport my imagination back
in time in ways that no microfilm ever could.
• Carbone, E. (2007, June). making it real: bringing historical fiction alive.
Teacher Librarian, 34(5), 27-30. Retrieved October 27, 2007, from Academic
Search Premier database.
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Teaching Historical Fiction
•
– To help you build good fiction into your social
studies program, you’ll find:
• Seven Reasons I Teach with Historical Fiction
• Tips for Choosing Good Historical Fiction
• Fifteen Fabulous New Historical Fiction Books
• Is Pocahontas Real? Discovering Where History Stops
and the Story Starts
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A bear in
historical
fiction?
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Bearly Barely historical fiction
• The Egyptian Polar Bear
– "The Egyptian Polar Bear" by JoAnn
Adinolfi was inspired by scholarly
tales of a burial chamber for a polar
bear. A strong current carries a polar bear to
ancient Egypt, where he comes to live with the
boy pharaoh. It is suitable for children aged 4 to
8.
• Ancient Egypt Fiction Books for Children
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Another barely historical heroical
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14Historical Fiction
The End